Documents seen by The Weekend Australian show the department of immigration told the Workplace and Productivity Agency that its research showed “there continues to be a surplus of qualified accountants’’ in Australia. While this has failed to result in the removal of accountants from the skills list, it has however resulted in a reduction in the number of places for accountants on the skills list.

The Australian Workplace and Productivity Agency recommends annually which occupations be added or ­removed from the skills occupation list based on its research and submissions from various groups and agencies. The AWPA said DIBPs submission was only one of seven submissions it received that called for accountants to be removed from the list. Many others said  the occupation needed to remain on the list.

According to The Weekend Australian, among arguments in support of foreign accountants was that changes to taxation law and regulations would increase demand. “Pending repeals of the carbon tax and the mineral resources rent tax were cited as examples of initiatives which will drive further demand for accounting services, along with changes to superannuation laws,’’ the agency said.

Under the general skilled ­migration program, professionals and other skilled migrants can enter Australia without being sponsored by an employer. While they have to nominate an occupation on the skilled occupation list, there is no obligation for them to work in that occupation.

The government has capped the program at 43,990 skilled visas next financial year. For each of the professions on the list, the number of positions available is capped at 6 per cent of the occupation’s workforce. After the agency agreed to ­reduce the cap for accountants to 4.5 per cent, the Assistant Minister for Immigration, Michaelia Cash, said the government had decided to reduce the cap further to 3 per cent.

The following are a list of persons in the National Office for the Department of Immigration and Border Protection.  In cases where a generic email address is provided, if a person's name is available then their email is likely to be their first name then their last name with a full stop between the names, then followed by immi.gov.au.  As an example this would look like This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

All information provided is already available to the public.

Deputy Secretary, Business Services Group

DIBP Offshore posts by city name in alphabetical order:

AMMAN

41 Kayed Al Armouti St, Abdoun Al Janoubi, Amman, Jordan

A unique group of panellists have been assembdled at the second annual Significant Investor Visa (SIV) conference, (Sydney, Hilton Ballroom July 3) to share their insights on China’s HNW investors and their journey to Australia via the SIV.

Betty Yuan, will provide first-hand insights on pursuing citizenship through SIV for her Chinese family members.

Monika Tu, Black Diamondz Property Concierge, a leading facilitator between sellers and buyers of prestige property, will discuss the emergence of the Chinese UHNW in Australian high-end real estate.

This morning at the NSW Client Reference Group meeting, members of Migration Alliance were in attendance to listen to a presentation by DIBP's Global Health. 

On 18 February 2014 DIBP signed a contract with Bupa which will take effect from the 28 July 2014.

Phase 1 begins on 28 July and will see visa applicant medical processing being completed onshore and also medical follow-ups being done on shore.  Phase 1 includes onshore medicals and x-rays.